Published on April 15, 2026
What if AI isn’t just assisting you but quietly influencing you?
AI no longer just writes emails or answers questions. It watches how you respond, what you trust, what calms you, and what persuades you. And then it learns.
From emotionally fluent chatbots to eerily persuasive recommendations, AI is beginning to use the same social engineering tricks that were once the forte of human hackers, only now it’s faster, subtler, and at massive scale.
So what happens when manipulation itself becomes automated?
To unpack this shift, we’re joined by Jamie Woodruff, one of the United Kingdom’s leading ethical hackers and a specialist in exposing how trust gets exploited. Known for breaking into systems by hacking people rather than code, Jamie brings a rare, human-first lens to cybersecurity.
In this conversation, he draws chilling parallels between classic social engineering and the emerging reality of AI-driven influence, showing how machines are now learning the same tricks humans once perfected.
Listen to the episode to understand why the easiest system to hack today isn’t software, it’s trust.
Agenda:
How AI crossed the line from a helpful assistant to subtle influence engine
Why humans trust machines faster than they trust people
How AI models predict emotion, hesitation, and compliance at scale
The rise of AI-generated manipulation inside everyday workflows
Why traditional security measures can’t stop psychological exploits
The importance of AI governance evolving beyond data to include influence and behavior
How you can spot manipulation and reclaim agency
